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Lupton, Mandy(2016)Adding value: Principals’ perceptions of the role of the teacher-librarian.School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), pp. 49-61.
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1
Adding value: Principals’ perceptions of the role of the
teacher‐librarian
Mandy Lupton Queensland University of Technology [email protected]
Abstract
This paper reports on a study into principals’ perceptions of the role of the teacher‐
librarian. Nine principals in Australia were interviewed about the role of the teacher‐
librarian and library in their school. The findings indicated a range of ways in which
the teacher‐librarian adds value to the school, including in their role as teacher,
providing the principal with a broad perspective on the workings of the school,
providing advice and ideas, and providing leadership in the use of information and
communications technology (ICT) at the school. It also identified a number of
personal qualities valued by principals.
Keywords: teacher‐librarian, school librarian, role, principal
Introduction
In Australia, teacher‐librarianship is in a period of transition. As we move into a new
era of implementing a national curriculum (ACARA, 2014) in many cases teacher‐
librarians have found themselves marginalised by the school community. Indeed, an
Australian Government Senate inquiry (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011) into
2
school libraries and teacher‐librarianship was established partly as a response to the
situation the Australian Government found when it created a national school library
building program only to discover that there were not enough qualified teacher‐
librarians to staff the new library buildings, nor the funds to build collections for
them. Follow‐up research to the Inquiry has confirmed that there are a number of
school libraries in Australia not staffed by qualified teacher‐librarians (Hughes et al.,
2013), i.e. staff who are both qualified teachers and qualified librarians.
The Australian Senate inquiry found that the role of the teacher‐librarian has been
problematic. There were suggestions that the teacher‐librarian was seen as a poor
performing teacher who had been placed in the Library to remove them from the
classroom. The Inquiry also revealed the stereotype that is inflicted on all librarians,
of a ‘dragon in pearls’ – an elderly woman in a ‘twin‐set’ and pearls who guards
books and shushes people (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011, p. 65).
Internationally, the role of the teacher‐librarian is influenced by differences in title,
qualifications, perceptions and expectations (Barnett, 2015). Titles used include
‘school librarian’, ‘school library media specialist’ (American Library Association,
2010) and more recently, ‘media and educational technology instructor’ (Cooper,
2015; Easley & Yelvingtom, 2015). Only some jurisdictions require dual qualifications
in teaching and librarianship (Ash‐Argyle & Shoham, 2012; Church, Dickinson,
Everhart, & Howard, 2012; Lo et al., 2014; Shu, 2014). Furthermore, not all countries
and jurisdictions have school libraries as is the norm in Australia (Campello, 2014;
Kachel, 2015). The differing qualification requirements and status of teacher‐
3
librarians, school librarians and school library media specialists around the world has
meant that research into the role is highly dependent on the jurisdiction. As such,
the findings reported in this paper cannot be necessarily generalised to other
jurisdictions.
Research into principals’ perceptions of the role of the teacher‐librarian
The principal’s perception of the role of the teacher‐librarian is crucial to the way
that the school library and teacher‐librarian is supported (or not) in the school. There
are two distinct bodies of research into the principal’s perceptions of the role of the
teacher‐librarian, the first drawing on quantitative survey data, and the second
drawing on interviews. Nearly all of the research has been undertaken in the U.S.
Much of the existing research on principals’ perceptions has been based on
responses to questionnaire items where the role is predefined by an existing
framework such as the US national school library guidelines (American Association of
School Librarians & Association for Communications and Technology, 1988) and
guidelines on collaborative partnerships in school libraries (American Association of
School Librarians & Association for Communications and Technology, 1998). For
instance, principals in Arizona (1989) and Missouri (Dorrell & Lawson, 1995) valued
collection development, library management, reference services and promotion of
reading. Teaching (i.e. the instructional role of the school librarian) was not valued in
either study. In Kentucky (Alexander, Smith, & Carey, 2003) a study into the value of
4
the role of the school library media specialist in relation to information literacy,
collaboration/leadership/technology, learning/teaching, information access/delivery
and program administration found that the rating for all categories as only
moderate, with principals in different sectors weighting the role differently, for
instance high school principals weighting information literacy more highly than
elementary principals. In South Carolina, Shannon (2009) found that principals
ranked collaboration, collection development and promoting reading and literacy as
the most important aspects of the role. More recently, Gavigan and Curry Lance
(2015) found that principals in South Carolina ranked the value of the school
librarian respectively as a reading motivator, instructional resources manager, co‐
teacher, provider of staff professional development, leader, teacher and technology
instructor. In Virginia, elementary (Church, 2008) and secondary (Church, 2010)
principals were asked about the instructional role of the school library media
specialist. Both sets of principals valued the school library media specialist as
information literacy instructor, instructional partner and provider of information
literacy professional development, while the elementary principals were critical of
the school library media specialist who confined their role to promotion of reading
and did not have technology expertise (Church, 2008, 2010).
Some of these studies included a qualitative element that also explored the
attributes valued by principals. Shannon (2009) found that interpersonal skills such
as being welcoming, approachable, flexible, and a team player were viewed as
desirable. Likewise, Church (2007) found that elementary school principals valued a
welcoming, collaborative, life‐long learner and team player who created a fun,
5
exciting and inviting library whereas secondary school principals (Church, 2010)
valued a school librarian who was approachable, customer‐service orientated,
enthusiastic, friendly and innovative.
One of the weaknesses of the studies discussed above is that they were designed
using a set of predetermined roles and thus did not necessarily allow for emergent
roles as perceived by principals. A recent qualitative study by Krueger (2015) on the
perceptions of principals in Minnesota has addressed this issue. Krueger interviewed
six principals from elementary and secondary schools, asking them how they valued
their media specialists. He found that they valued their media specialist as a provider
of staff development, particularly in relation to technology development; as a school
leader in terms of technology, events planning, curriculum integration, and
communication; and as a teacher working with individuals and class groups.
There has been little previous empirical research into principals’ perceptions of the
role of the teacher‐librarian in Australia. An exception is a qualitative, exploratory
study (Henri & Boyd, 2002) which investigated the level of influence of teacher‐
librarians as perceived by themselves and their principals. The teacher‐librarians in
the study were identified as those who were already known in their professional
community as having a strong level of professional influence. The four principals who
participated in the study ‘held both the person and the position in high esteem’ (p.
12). However, as this study was based around the level of influence the teacher‐
librarian wielded in the school, there was no explicit analysis of the principal’s
perceptions of the role of the teacher‐librarian. Furthermore, the study predated the
6
extensive technological developments that have transformed the role of the
teacher‐librarian. A more recent survey‐based study investigated how teacher‐
librarians in contributed to student literacy development in 27 schools in
Queensland (Hughes, et al., 2013). A component of this study used open‐ended
questions to elicit principals’ perceptions of the impact of the teacher‐librarian. The
study found that principals saw their teacher‐librarian as a pedagogical and
curriculum leader, literacy leader, collaborative literacy teacher, promoter of
information and digital/ICT literacy, promoter of reading, peer educator, resource
expert, learning space creator and researcher.
Given the findings of the Australian Government Senate Inquiry (Commonwealth of
Australia, 2011), and the lack of research into principals’ perceptions of the role of
the teacher‐librarian in Australia, it is clear that more research is needed. The study
reported in this paper has been designed to fill the gap in this body of research.
Investigating principal’s perceptions of the role of the teacher‐
librarian
This study investigated the question ‘What are principals’ perceptions of the role of
the teacher‐librarian?’ Nine principals of state schools (N=5) and private schools
(N=4) from the state of Queensland, Australia, volunteered as participants in the
study. The schools ranged in size from approximately 500 to 1800 students with a
7
diversity of year groupings: three K‐7, three K‐12, two 8‐12 and one 10‐12. The
principals were recruited via their teacher‐librarian. As the principal was approached
by their teacher‐librarian it is likely that this study is skewed towards those who
would be supportive of their teacher‐librarian.
Semi‐structured interviews of approximately 30 minutes duration were conducted
(one interview was cut short at 15 minutes due to the principal’s schedule). The
interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Principals were asked the
following questions:
1. Could you explain the role of the teacher‐librarian at this school?
2. What is the role of the school library?
3. How have you influenced the role of the teacher‐librarian?
4. What developments would you like to see in the role of the teacher‐librarian
in the future?
5. How does the role of the teacher‐librarian relate to the role of head of
curriculum, and ICT coordinator?
6. How does the teacher‐librarian assist you in your role as principal?
7. If you were able to recruit a new teacher‐librarian, what would you look for?
The data were analysed using a qualitative, interpretative approach. Thematic
analysis was undertaken looking for patterns of similarity and difference. Frequency
of particular roles mentioned across the transcripts was seen as an indicator of
8
foundational aspects of the teacher‐librarian role. A range of common elements
emerged from the data rather than being pre‐specified. These were:
students – what the principal perceives the teacher‐librarian does for
students
teachers ‐ what the principal perceives the teacher‐librarian does for
teachers
leadership & management – the leadership and management role of the
teacher‐librarian
principal – the way the teacher‐librarian assists the principal
qualities ‐ the qualities that the principal looks for in a teacher‐librarian
Individual profiles were constructed using the common elements. This enabled the
respective roles to be compared and contrasted across schools. The profiles were
given a descriptive title illustrating the way that the principal described the role of
their respective teacher‐librarian e.g. Expert Teacher, Connector, Curriculum Leader.
These titles have been used as codes distinguishing the quotations below. The
individual profiles have been summarised in Table 1.
A number of themes were also identified in the data. These were based around the
value that the teacher‐librarian provided to the principal and the school:
1. Value for money – teacher first, librarian second
2. Value in providing a broad perspective
3. Value in giving advice and providing ideas
9
4. Value in providing leadership in ICT
5. Value in the teacher‐librarian’s qualities
Principals’ perceptions of the role of the teacher‐librarian
Overview
Each of the nine principals viewed the role of the teacher‐librarian (TL) quite
differently. This was due to a range of factors including the personality and expertise
of the individual teacher‐librarian, the role of the library within the school, and the
existence of leadership and management roles of other staff in the school including
the head of curriculum and ICT coordinator. In some schools the teacher‐librarian
performed parts of each of these roles, while in other schools the teacher‐librarian
was restricted to the role of library manager. The commonalities between the
principals’ perceptions of the role were that the teacher‐librarian needed to be an
expert teacher, manager of resources, and someone who is a good collaborator. The
similarities and differences are illustrated below in a description of the themes.
Theme 1: Value for money: teacher first, librarian second
Several principals were emphatic that the teacher‐librarian is a teacher first and
librarian second. (It should be noted that ‘teaching’ in this context was seen as
formally working with classes in the library rather than necessarily being assigned to
a class group.) They explained that the teacher‐librarian needed to be an
experienced, expert teacher.
10
I think the emphasis is on the word ‘teacher’. I think the teacher‐librarian needs to be the
teacher first and the librarian second…I think that the teacher‐librarian should spend the
majority of their time with classes, probably 60 to 70 percent on average…if teacher‐
librarians are being phased out, I think it’s because they’re not doing that, and the school
community is not really sensing that there’s much value. I think it’s the educative function
that’s critical. (Teacher)
A good TL has got to be a good teacher, in my eyes. (Superperson)
The teachers here will tell you that probably our greatest resource is the TL…she sees herself
as very much a teacher and a teacher attached to every classroom. (Curriculum Leader)
They have to see themselves as a high‐quality teacher first. If they come in as a high‐quality
teacher, I can train them to do the other things if I need to, but it’s very difficult to have a
trained librarian that isn’t great at teaching. (Expert Teacher)
Principals said that they needed the funding invested in the teacher‐librarian to be
used for teaching. They pointed out that they could hire a library assistant to
undertake the library functions.
I’d have to see their role a way more broadly than a manager of a library, than a librarian,
that the big function would be on teacher, the small function would be on librarian,
because I can provide the librarian service with trained, good quality teacher‐aides, to a large
extent. There are some things I can’t do, because I need somebody with a teacher’s eye to
look at how a resource will be used. (Expert Teacher)
11
One principal had already decided to replace his teacher‐librarian with a lower‐paid
library assistant as he didn’t feel he was getting the ‘teacher’ part of the teacher‐
librarian.
My biggest beef is you pay for the ‘T’ part of the TL and you don’t get any ‘T’ from the TL.
That’s an issue with me…So my difficulty is a teacher‐librarian is employed under the same
conditions as other teachers but doesn’t do anywhere near the contact and face‐to‐face and,
if you like to use a crude term, the billable hours that a teacher does of 6 hours a day
standing in front of 25 kids…You’re paying $90,000 for a teacher‐librarian. I don’t mind if I’m
getting $90,000 worth of value, but in my experience you rarely are. (Not‐Teacher)
Some principals could not explicitly see the relationship between the work a teacher‐
librarian does and improving scores for Australia’s standardised testing regime, the
National Assessment Program ‐ Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). For instance,
Expert Teacher’s principal explained that he needed to allocate staffing based on
improving NAPLAN scores, but he wasn’t sure if the teacher‐librarian had an effect
on the improvement of scores.
When I look across all of the resources I have at hand, a teacher‐librarian is seen as one full‐
time equivalent teacher, which is a cost of about $90,000 of resources. If I have any
discretion over $90,000 of resources and I have an absolute focus to improve my reading,
writing and spelling NAPLAN scores, would using the $90,000 and employing a teacher‐
librarian be my number one preference if my outcome is going to be measured in NAPLAN
scores and those sorts of things? That’s what principals are being faced with, certainly
around Queensland. If I was to put it to somebody and say, ‘You’ve got $90,000. You are
absolutely obligated to improve your NAPLAN scores. What do you want to buy with that?
12
I’m not sure how many would come up and say, ‘Well, I think I need a TL. That’s my number
one priority.’ They may likely say things like, ‘I want 3,600 hours of teacher‐aide time per
year, ‘ I want $90,000 worth of reading materials,’ or ‘I want a literacy coach’, or ‘I want a
mentor, a teaching mentor, a pedagogy guide’, or something like that. That’s more likely
going to be on my wish list. I’m fortunate here to have a very good TL. Having said that, I’m
still not thinking that that would equate to $90,000 towards my NAPLAN improve. That’s the
dilemma. (Expert Teacher)
Theme 2: Value in providing a broad perspective
Principals commented that the value the teacher‐librarians brought to their role and
to the whole school was their broad perspective. This included understanding the big
picture on what was happening in the school in terms of staff and student progress
and a whole school view on curriculum and pedagogy. This is exemplified by
comments from Superperson’s principal who relied on the teacher‐librarian to have
their ’ear to the ground’.
Because of their perspective in a school, position in a school, they have a perspective which
is very broad. They do have reasonably good strategic oversight and vision for what’s
happening… I rely on the TL fairly heavily for broad conversations which I can pick important
bits of information from, well beyond what you would think the TL would advise on. I try to
include the TL in, again, broader budgetary discussions, helping us set the priorities of the
school, in general, because they talk to a lot of people. They talk to a lot of people on the
basis that the conversation might be different if I’m having the conversation, because people
talk differently with the head of the school than they might to their TL because they see their
TL as a colleague. Because they work with every year level, they hear what’s bothering the
prep year teachers, they hear what the year sixes are wanting to do. So the knock on the
13
door from the TL that says, ‘Look, I was having a conversation with Year 5 and they were
talking about this, which links very close into what Year 3 were doing. We don’t actually have
the facilities to manage that. Is that something that we can put into budget’. So I rely on
them pretty heavily, I think. They usually have their ear to the ground, they pick up the feel
of the school, and that can be both from the staff, the parents, the students. You get some
good advice from the TL, if you listen. (Superperson)
Another principal explained that because the teacher‐librarian interacted with all the
staff and students in the school they were able to see alignment or lack of alignment
throughout the school. They are also able to identify the staff and students who may
need assistance and/or intervention. As such they are the ‘canary in the coal mine’.
They do have a finger on the pulse of where the staff are. The TL is a person that I’ve relied
on quite heavily in terms of ‐ I have this thing as a metaphor, the canaries? The canaries in
the mine?... [she is able to] give you a really, fairly accurate view of where people are at
because she interacts with so many staff. (Connector)
I have a teacher librarian who is across the bigger picture, around resourcing, often around
students, because they see them in a different capacity. So alerting me to student groups or
students that might need some sort of intervention is part of that. Quite often needs to have
the bigger picture around resources and what one group wants and how another group
might benefit from that particular resource. Highly valuable to keeping the administration
informed around a whole range of issues. (Manager)
Theme 3: Value in giving advice and providing ideas
14
The broad perspective held by the teacher‐librarian provided principals with advice
on a range of matters including ideas and knowledge of what was happening across
the sector. This included curriculum and pedagogy (Curriculum leader, Expert
Teacher, Challenger) resources, (Manager, Digital Information Leader), staff and
students (Connector, Manager, Superperson) and designing learning spaces
(Superperson, Digital Information Leader).
I like listening to her ideas. So she’ll say, “I read this thing on –“She throws books sometimes
into my tray…Or she’ll say “I saw this great thing at the library I was at on the
weekend”…She’s very good with coming up with, “hey, have you heard? Are you thinking
about? This is where we could go with that.” So I guess she does influence my thinking
around resourcing across the school. (Digital Information leader)
I rely on the TL fairly heavily for broad conversations which I can pick important bits of
information from, well beyond what you would think the TL would advise on… You get some
good advice from the TL, if you listen. (Superperson)
She certainly has a view on how you would best teach something, and that helps her make
informed advice to me…She brings ideas that I may not have even considered and then
makes them happen. (Expert teacher)
Theme 4: Value in providing leadership in ICT
Many principals valued their teacher‐librarian as someone who went beyond books
and had expertise in ICT for teaching and learning (Superperson, Expert Teacher,
Challenger, Connector, Digital Information Leader, Manager). This included the
15
teacher‐librarian providing professional development and coaching for staff, for
instance in implementing a new learning management system (Challenger), use of
digital technologies available in the library (Manager), embedding ICT in learning and
managing a system‐wide ICT certificate credential for staff (Expert teacher). In some
cases (Expert Teacher, Superperson), the teacher‐librarian played the dual role of TL
and ICT coordinator.
Our TL has a huge role to play in the IT program at the school…Our TL probably does fulfil a
lot of the responsibilities of the IT mentor teacher or the IT coordinator …I think there are
going to be increasing demands for out TL to take up more and more of the leadership in the
whole IT area. (Superperson)
The teacher‐librarian was valued as someone who is up‐to‐date with ICT
developments.
She knows what’s coming so that she can inform the rest of the team around changes in
digital pedagogies, digital information…and to keep ahead of the kids, with things like the
iPad, all that digital technology that kids are just so familiar with. Her job is to basically keep
up‐to‐date and almost ahead of where the kids are at with the technology. (Digital
Information Leader)
Theme 5: Value in the teacher‐librarian’s qualities
16
A common thread in principals’ responses was the relationship between the teacher‐
librarian as an individual and the teacher‐librarian as a role. The teacher‐librarian
was valued as an individual, that is, it was the person who made the role valuable,
not the role per se. In the main, when the principals described the qualities they
would be looking for if they were to recruit a new teacher‐librarian, they generally
listed and explained these qualities with reference to the qualities of their current
teacher‐librarian (a notable exception was the principal of Not Teacher). These
qualities include personal qualities and leadership qualities. They are underpinned
by being an experienced and expert teacher.
We’re looking for people who have demonstrated good, effective teaching. They have a love
of literature. They see technology as being critical to learning. They see their role as being
the person who works with, not for, or over, or around teachers. And I think that’s a critical
thing. That they are able to contribute to the conversation about pedagogy, contribute to the
way that people find credible and useful. So, they need to be able to, challenge us, and they
do. They challenge and to lead and advocate. (Connector)
Some of the principals explained that although a love of literature was important,
the qualities they wanted in a teacher‐librarian went beyond the traditional role.
I wouldn’t even be advertising your stock standard, what a teacher‐librarian does. I think
that gives the wrong impression about what a teacher‐librarian does these days. I’d be
advertising for a curriculum leader…is able to work within teams, is able to take on
additional curriculum enhancement activities. (Curriculum Leader)
17
In listing the range of qualities they were looking for, some principals admitted that
they were asking a lot of one person. For instance Superperson’s principal started
their list of qualities with the statement ‘We want a sort of Superman or
Superwoman’. They listed a wide range of qualities and then exclaimed ‘ I’ve
described the impossible person!’ A range of personal and leadership qualities is
seen this description:
I want someone who sees the Library, so to speak, as being the technology space to actually
break down the barriers and get people together. Someone who is open to new ideas and
new ways of thinking. Someone who is naturally curious. Someone’s who’s a researcher, who
wants to research, read, learn. Someone who’s a coach and a mentor, not afraid to learn
from other people as well. And someone who can communicate with influence, someone
who has the political smarts, who can go out there and bring people on board. (Digital
Information Leader)
Personal qualities listed were varied and numerous. They included interpersonal
skills such as being collaborative, collegial and a ‘people person’. Dispositions
included a sense of humour, flexible, organised, open, curious, adaptable and
willingness to learn and to go above and beyond.
A people person connecting people to pedagogy. (Connector)
They need to have high levels of interpersonal skills and be able to adapt to different
people’s needs and styles. (Expert Teacher)
18
Leadership qualities included vision, influencing, challenging, proactive, advocate,
politically smart, ‘pushes boundaries’, ‘mover and shaker’, strong management skills
and preparedness to lead.
Strong management skills, coupled with good leadership and influencing skills around what a
modern [resource] centre needs to look like, and just continual pushing boundaries on
what’s possible. Don’t know whether you can write that into a position description!
(Manager)
They need to be good teachers, number one, they need to be well organised, number two,
and number three they need to be prepared to lead the way. (Expert Teacher)
The principal’s support and influence
One of the interview questions explored the ways in which the principal supported
and influenced the role of the teacher‐librarian. Responses included visiting the
library frequently, encouraging other staff to consult the teacher‐librarian, publically
promoting the library, providing an adequate budget, being responsive and
encouraging of the teacher‐librarians’ ideas and suggestions, allowing time for the
teacher‐librarian to do curriculum planning with year groups and inviting the
teacher‐librarian to be involved on school‐wide projects and committees.
The expertise of the individual teacher‐librarian seemed to be crucial to the level of
support and influence provided by their principal. Several of the principals in the
study compared their current teacher‐librarian favourably with former colleagues.
19
Those with a high performing teacher‐librarian mentioned being ‘lucky’. In several
cases the teacher‐librarian was praised as being highly proactive. Indeed, when
asked how they had influenced the role of the teacher‐librarian at the school
Connector’s principal responded ‘I think they do a lot of the influencing’. A common
reply was to trust in the teacher‐librarian’s expertise.
I try to support her by not getting in her way. (Digital Information Leader)
Having the trust to let them get on with the job. (Superperson)
20
Table 1 ‐ summary of roles against general elements
Students Teachers Leadership & management
Help principal Qualities
Superperson Provides pastoral care
Develops reading Develops research skills
Teaches students how libraries work
Co‐teaches Curriculum planning
ICT mentor
Inquiry‐learning pedagogy expert
Provides professional development
Strategic insight Broad perspective Overview of the Australian Curriculum
Building projects IT coordinator Manages resources
‘Ear to the ground’ Broad perspective Provides good advice
Vision Broad teaching experience, experienced teacher and TL Good understanding of the Australian Curriculum
Strong ICT skills & pedagogical knowledge Multitasker
Flexible Organised Sense of humour
Enjoys working with children Collaborative & collegial Highly rounded individual
Expert Teacher Improves NAPLAN scores
Develops reading Develops literacy & numeracy
Co‐teaches Develops ICT skills Develops ICT pedagogy
ICT pedagogy ICT coordinator Literacy initiatives Manages Library
Provides good advice Helps with decision‐making
Provides ideas
Teacher first, librarian second Expert, experienced teacher Knows the curriculum
Interpersonal skills Prepared to lead the way Can adapt to teacher’s needs & styles Proactive
Challenger Develops information literacy
Develops digital citizenship
Collaborates & co‐learns
Develops ICTs
Implementing school pedagogical framework
Facilitates change
Helps implement vision
Helps staff to move forward
Knowledge of school pedagogical framework
No response due to short interview
Connector Develops literacy Develops ICT Connects students to ideas, resources & literature
Pedagogy mentor
Curriculum expert
Connects teachers with resources
Develops ICT Models collaborative learning
Alignment across the school
Connecting with students & teachers across the school
Advocates change
‘Canary in the coalmine’
Staff wellbeing Provides links & connections
Expert teacher Flexible ‘People person’ ICT pedagogical expertise Love of literature Vision for learning Engage in the life of the school
21
Digital Information Leader
Manages Library Digital pedagogy mentor
Influences Manages Library
Leader of digital information
Provides ideas Provides resources
Tech‐savvy Curious Open to new ideas Coach & mentor
Influencer Researcher & learner Political smarts
Connects people with technology Curriculum Leader
Provides engaging lessons
Develops literacy Runs co‐curricular & extra‐curricular activities
Co‐teaches & collaborates &
Collaborates with curriculum planning
Provides resources Curriculum mentor
Pedagogical coach
Leads curriculum development
Leads pedagogy development
Provides links with the classroom
Discusses curriculum & pedagogy
Provides ideas
Curriculum leader
Utilises new technologies Goes above & beyond Constantly renews professionally At the forefront
Manager Develops information literacy
Coordinates student research projects
Connects students with experts
Provides access to information
Co‐teaches Provides ICT professional development
Provides professional advice
Provides resources
Influences staff Pushes boundaries Manages library
Provides the big picture Provides information on staff & students
Provides ideas & implements changes
Provides information on professional practice in the sector
Strong management skills
Pushes boundaries Undertakes personal PD Actively networks Proactive Leads & influences
Teacher Develops information literacy
Develops digital citizenship
Develops a love of reading & ideas
Co‐teaches & collaborates
Collaborates with curriculum planning
Improves student learning
Excellent teacher Team player
Proactive
Not Teacher Waits to be asked a question
Doesn’t interact with staff
Doesn’t exhibit leadership or management functions or qualities
Costs resources that could be used elsewhere
Proactive Willingness to learn
Bright & keen Strong ICT skills
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Discussion
The findings of this study reveal a number of aspects that reinforce the Australian
Senate Inquiry’s (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011) findings about the current state
of the profession. The role of the teacher‐librarian in each school was idiosyncratic
due to the nature of the school and the individual qualities of the teacher‐librarian.
The contextualised nature of the role points to one of the problems with the
profession, that is that the value of the teacher‐librarian as an individual seemed to
outweigh the value of the role per se. In the past, a teacher‐librarian was a
mandated specialist member of staff, however, in Queensland explicit mention of
the position is in the process of being removed from industrial awards and
enterprise agreements. The removal of the mandated position and the
implementation of school autonomy in Queensland in the form of ‘independent
public schools’(Queensland Department of Educationand and Training, 2014) has
meant that the position is a tenuous one. This situation is not unique to the
Australian content, as it is seen in other jurisdictions such as the US states of
Wisconsin (Klais & Bugher, 2010) and Illinois (VanTuyle & Watkins, 2012).
The findings of this study emphasise how the support provided by the principal
impacts upon the role of the teacher‐librarian. These support activities were also
noted by Oberg and Henri (2005) in their study of the leadership role of the principal
in relation to the information literate school. As Church (2009, p. 40) argued, the
principal can ‘make or break the library program.’ Likewise, Kaplan (2006, p. xi)
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relayed the comments of a school library media specialist who said ‘she is always a
heartbeat away from a good school library media program because as soon as she
“trains’ one principal, that principal moves on and she has to “train” another one’.
Support from the principal is more likely to be forthcoming there is a strong
collaborative partnership between the principal and the teacher‐librarian (Shannon,
2012).
The findings confirm that the role of the teacher‐librarian has expanded from the
traditional role of resourcing the curriculum, promotion of reading and development
of information literacy. The development of ICT skills and ICT pedagogical leadership
was the most prevalent addition, and in some cases the teacher‐librarian played a
dual role as ICT coordinator. The common ground between the teacher‐librarian
and ICT coordinator/technology coach has been noted by others (Bibbo & d'Erizans,
2013; Cooper, 2015). Furthermore, several teacher‐librarians had a strong role in
curriculum development across the school, with one teacher‐librarian taking the role
as head of curriculum. The importance of ICT and curriculum expertise was also
noted by Church (2010) and Kruger (2015).
Another aspect highlighted in the findings is the wide range of knowledge, skills and
attitudes that principals value in their teacher‐librarian. It is difficult to imagine
another teaching position in the school that requires the sort of breadth and depth
expected by these principals of their teacher‐librarian. Even though the position is
24
not a formal leadership position in the school, many principals expected the teacher‐
librarian to have the qualities and influence of a leader. These qualities were also
found in Henri and Boyd’s (2002) Australian study of principals’ perceptions of the
influence of the teacher‐librarian in the school and in Church’s (2008, 2010) studies
of school library media specialists in Virginia. Furthermore, both Kaplan (2006) and
Shannon (2009) found that principals highly valued interpersonal skills.
Conclusion
The findings from this study emphasise that principals valued the teaching role of
the teacher‐librarian, and saw their teacher‐librarian as a teacher first and librarian
second. This has a number of implications for teacher‐librarians. In Australia,
teachers are evaluated against the Australian Institute for Teaching and School
Leadership Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and
School Leadership, 2014). These Standards are generic, and do not take into account
teachers with specialist roles in the school such as the teacher‐librarian, school
guidance counsellor and careers counsellor. This means that teacher‐librarians need
to translate their practice to meet the Standards. It also means that any teacher‐
librarian whose role is mainly library manager may find themselves redundant if they
do not weight their activities towards teaching and curriculum integration.
The challenge then, is for teacher‐librarians to address the range of factors that
influence the vulnerability of the teacher‐librarian position and role. The findings of
this study confirm that teacher‐librarians add value to their school in a myriad ways.
Their position can be shored up by a good relationship with the principal, being
25
proactive, demonstrating a range of inter‐personal skills and innovative practices,
demonstrating ICT expertise, participating in curriculum development and by being
an expert teacher.
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